Ice-cream scoop



April 6, 1948. V G. N. BOLINGER ICE CREAM SCOOP Filed May 19, 1944 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1- zozas/V 501. mark April 6, 194& e, N. BOLIILJGER ICE CREAM scoor Filed May 19, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i Q J w E a V T 3 m QN' Q% Q m R UR 7 ATTOK/YEY Patented Apr. 6, i948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ICE-CREAM SCOOP George Noel Bolinger, Shelbyville, Ill. Application May 19, 1944, Serial No. 536,357

scoop is pressed into the ice cream solely by the exercise of physical force, and where the ice cream is frozen particularly hard, great physical effort is required in scooping the ice cream.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a scoop having means associated therewith for assisting in the insertion of the open side of the scoop into the body of the ice cream, regardless of how hard the ice cream'is frozen, thus materially reducing the physical effort required in scooping the ice cream.

A further object is to provide a device of this character wherein the edge of the scoop or cup of the device is provided with power-operated means for penetrating into the body of the ice cream without the exercise of substantial physical force by the operator.

A further object is to provide such a device wherein the means for penetrating the ice cream is in the form of an annular member having saw teeth and provided with means for eifecting a rapid oscillation of the penetrating means to I cause it to cut or saw into the body of the cream.

A further object is to provide such a device wherein the cutting means is readily under the control of the operator's hand which holds and operates the device.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

' In the drawings I have shown two embodiments of the invention. In this showing-- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the device taken centrally through the handle, parts being shown in elevation,

Figure 2 is a similar View taken at right angles to Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 1, parts being broken away, I

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 5-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is an elevational view of a modified form of the invention,

Figure. 6 is a, longitudinal sectional view through the same, taken centrally throughthe handle and looking in the same direction as Figure 5, parts being shown in elevation,

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line I'l of Figure 5, parts being broken away, and

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view on line 8-8 oi Figure 6. I

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the numeral IIl designates the handle of the device as a whole preferably formed of complementary sections II and I2 divided longitudinally of the handle, the two handle sections being secured together in any suitable manner, for example by screws I3. One end of one of the handle elements is provided with an extension I4 which carries a. conventionally shaped cup or scoop I5.

This scoop may be integral with the element I4 or may be secured thereto in any suitable manner.

A cutting ring I6 surrounds the scoop I5 adjacent its opposite side as shown in Figure 3. This ring is supported in any suitable manner with respect to the scoop I5 to be oscillated about the axis of the ring I6. For this purpose, the ring I 5 may be provided with an internal annular groove II engageable by a plurality of hardened pins I8 projecting through the scoop I5. In assembling the device, the ring I6 will be placed in position and the pins I8 driven through the openings I9 drilled in the scoop I5, the pins I8 preferably having their inner ends headed as shown and being braised or welded in the scoop I5. The ring I6 projects beyond the edge of the scoop I5 and is provided with a cutting edge preferably in the form of saw teeth 20.

At the side of the ring I6 facing the handle I 0, a pair of spaced lips 22 is formed integral with the ring to receive the adjacent end 23 of an operating lever 24, this lever being pivoted on a pin 25 mounted in the handle In as shown in Fig-ure 2 and serving as a bearing for the lever 24. The opposite end portion 26 of the lever 24 serves as an armature to be alternately attracted by magnets 21 and 28 carried by the respective handle sections I I and I2, such alternate attraction of the armature serving to rapidly oscillate the lever 24. p

The extremity of the lever end 26, as the lever oscillates, is alternately engageable with spring contacts 29 and 30 and these contacts are respectively movable into engagement with contacts 3| and 32. The four contacts referred to are carried by upstanding posts 3 3 preferably formed integral with an insulating block 34se cured to the respective handle sections I I and I2 by screws 35. V

A cable 38, connected to a suitable source of current, extends into the free end of the handle and has one wire 39 thereof divided into-branches 40 and II connected 'tothe respective contacts 29 and 30. The contacts 3 I, and 32 are connected to the respective magnets 28 and 21 by wires 42 and 43-. The other ends of the windings of the magnets 21 and 28 are respectively connected to branches 44 and 45 of a wire 45 leading to a spring contact 41 carried by an insulated plate 48. The spring contact-41 constitutes a switch arm movable into engagement with a contact 48 forming a binding post (for the second Wire 49 from the source. Aswitch operating finger 52 is pivoteditqt lc handle at 3 and is provided with an operating arm 54 engageable with the spring contact 41 upon depression of the opposite end of the finger 52, this finger being normally held in inoperative position by a small spring 55.

It will become apparent that when th eQswitch contact 41 is closed, the circuits to the magnets 21 and. 28 will be alternately closed to oscillate the lever 24. To insure initial closing of one of these circuits, a, spring 56 engages one end of the lever 24 tour'ge the endflZG, thereof to a position engaging the contacts 35 and'32, as shown in Figure'L I s rn'e. endffo the re ,"adjacent the scoop "'s proy' ,e with a'transversely'elonghjwhich thelever end 23 proj cts, he'jo' permit the n'eice ci1latorymovement of the'lev'erl'fil li de red, the opening 59 may be maintai11ed",c'losed'b athin highly flexible crate;- proofbootfifito 'ntjthe entrance of ice cream or. any other 'fo gn materiel into the open handl'e.,-,f"

Theldevi'ce' is'gpre'feifablyprovided with means, Whichlnay belco pn ne for cutting the ice cream l'oosefr'onihescoop to permit its dis eherg'eteererrem, For this purpo'se, the device has been; shown as; having a conventional semicircular slicing inernber i521 arranged in the scoop and eenneeteaiitpfeshort shaft 613 projecting through. the team ,of the scoop and carrying v 4. link pinion is eng-ageable bya segg carried by o'ne end ofia lever pivotedas at.fileftotheextension l4. The otherend of the deter (Figure J1) terminates in a finger iece 53 n rm'euyergeq p we'miyrrem the hendle it)byla'snitablefspring'fil. g

In the term of ith ej devicefj'ust described the powermeans Tier operatingthe ring R53 .is contained Withinthe; ndleof the device. in the we e P h in'v t. a. Shaw i rlfie it 1w 8 l sivean x a t er me t l mr b tr nsmitte to h M Le fi xihl jl i .etieewthiet e d ib be. bl qwra p f h m i f' erence nurn erals have been. applied to the corresponding parts. 7 V l .Te vhen le 9 t e etl fied fe -m l' i ev h by th unieral liand divided complemene projection l liprea fid- .t eil ed as, efre'e d shaft 80 journalled in bearings 81' and '82and one end o f this shaft .carries a cam 83 .engageable against q rt-d e the Fe t e ail. hih th i a e ated-ant he em-itw w scli'red as by vveldingto the shaft 801 k U hg "being long enough to d. The scoop t etse Ea ent? andle sections carries a h the scoop" .5

ral With the ring El the latter of which is splined on the shaft 86 as, at 92 and is provided with a groove 93.

The shaft may be provided with a pilot 95 entering the adjacent end of the shaft 85 to maintain the twg; shafts in fixed axial alinement.

p pbviously, the clutch element 9| is slidable on the'shafttfi but is fixed against rotation with respect thereto. This clutch element is moved into engagement with the clutch element 9% to drive theshaft lld by means of a fork 5E5 thearms of which "arearra'rigefcl inth'e roove Q93. The forkfiE is rigidly connected to a slide 9% arranged in [a're'c'ess "Q1 fi'ormed in th'ejhjan'dIeWE, andthe slidefgfi is preferably provided with'fa, finger piece 's'tt'ofacilitateitsoperation. The

fork v S5 is urged to a clutch-disengaging posttion by a suitable springise. I

The operation of the forinof the invehti'on shown in Figures '1 to 4 inclusive isIas follows:

The 's'pn'n 'st urges tl'i'e'lever 24th the solid line positiohishown'in Figure 1, the spring c'on tact a; beifigTenga'ged against the contact 32. When the ep'eretb is'read'y to use the device, the open side 'of'the' scoop, is turned downwardly over the ice crear'ni'n thejfr'z'l', in the csuairean ner, whereupon the operatonwill depress the switch finger 52. The arm Ed will engage" the spring contact "4'1 and fnove' it into" engagement with the contact 43 A'iiCliit thus will be closed through Wires '39 and 4!, contacts'fill and 32, wire 43, magnet 2'i,"wires d'and lfi'a'nd' contactsf ll and 58, and' thence back toxthe'fsource through wire 49. Thus the magnetlilTwill' be energized to attrac't'the armatureen'd 26o-fthe'levr 2 l to swing, this lever; in a counterclockwise sneetion as viewed in Figure 1.\ Such n'iovefnent 'almost mmediateiyireieajs s the edntactee frdm the. ddfifilbt' SZQEHIV'IVS bfkiltig iil'lelfiilbliit "t0' the magnet 2'}. The momentum of the lever" will carry 'it' into engagemen withthe ridfof the core offthe jniagnet' 21, prior to which gtne 'ieiver end" 25 "will have moved the spring contact 29.

into engagement with theco'nt'a'ct 3}, Afcircuit willthenbeestablished-froth wires jeeiaiid' ftt through contacts 29and"3'llto the magnet 28, and thence through wire 45f r'id' bacl jt'oit1ie source through the elemeiitsprevlous'ly described. Energization .o'ffthe'iiiaghet 28 reverses the mot ernent of thel'ever 24 ,j'th" "v'er then turningina clockwise direction asv'i'e edeinj Figured. This operation is nepatedto continue the rapidoscillation'of thelever '24 and the lever endifit, engaged between the lips 22, will effect oscillation of the ring teen-its axis, 'rhe p cilliatorynrovementobvi-ously will be veryjrapidand the, jeth Zll'of the ringltwill readilycut through ice cream which hasbeen frozen entremely'hardythc operator exertingonly 'enosgnrorcete feed'lther scoop into the ice cream asfthc cuttingfa ti'on progresses. ",Tneforc' being fi af tion that ne sa f r 1iting into a st'ifily frozen bodyjof icebre arnwith' a conventional scoop.

The ecitionfrer rred towilhbepontinueduntil a sufiicie'nt quantity of ice cream has been scooped up,.whereupon the operator will release the finger 52 to stop the operation of the power means.

The scoop will then be placed in a proper posi- .tion over a cone or dish, whereupon the operator will press inwardly on the finger piece 68 to rotate the element 62 and thus dislodge the ice cream within the scoop, in the usual manner.

The releasing of the ice cream from the scoop will release the ring I6 so that the spring 56 can function to return the lever 24 to its normal position shown in Figure 1. Thus the parts of the apparatus are always positioned so that one of the magnets will be energized upon operation of the finger 52; The switch fingers 29 are preferably relatively thin and highly resilient and offer little resistance to operation of the lever 24, and they may be readily bent to their proper adjusted positions. The handle I being formed of complementary sections the assembly of the device is greatly facilitated. One of the magnets is secured to each handle section and the various wire connections may be made before bringing the handle sections together. In assembling the device, one of the screws 35 (Figure 4) will be applied and tightened to secure the insulating block 34 in proper position, and the other screw 35 may be applied after the handle sections have been secured together.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 5 the device is operated in exactly the same manner as in the form of the device described except that the slide 96 is operated to oscillate the ring it instead of operating the finger 52. The clutch elements 90 and 9| are normally disengaged and held disengaged by the spring 99. To operate the device, assuming that the source of power is operating to drive the shaft 96, the operator will merely engage the teeth 29 with the surface of the ice cream, push the finger piece 98 forwardly toward the scoop 15 to engage the clutch elements 99 and 9|, and then feed the scoop downwardly into the ice cream. The shaft 89 will be driven with the shaft 86 to rotate the cam 33 and thus oscillate the ring [6 very rapidly so that the teeth 20 cut readily into the body of the ice cream. When the scooping action has been completed, the operator will release the finger piece 96, whereupon the spring 99 will disengage the clutch and oscillation of the ring l6 will stop. The handle 68 then may be operated to discharge the ice cream from the scoop.

It will be apparent that the present device substantially minimizes the physical force necessary for the scooping of ice cream, a conventional scoop requiring the expenditure of great force when clipping ice cream which has been frozen very hard. The power driven means of the present device effectively cuts through the body of the ice cream, it merely being necessary for the operator to feed the scoop into the body of the cream with the same motion as is practiced with a conventional scoop.

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A material scooping device comprising a handle, a stationary scoop carried by one end of said handle and having an open top of circular form, a cutting device extending at least partially around the open top of said scoop concentric therewithand supported solely by the edge por ticn of such open top f0r;oscillating movement about its axis, and power means for oscillating said cutting device. i

2. A material scooping device comprising a handle, a stationary scoop carried by one end of said handle and having an open top of: circular form, a cutting device extending at least partially around the open top of said scoop-concentric therewith and supported solely by the edge por-. tion of suchopen top for oscillating movement about its axis, power means for oscillating said cuttingdevice and means carried by said handle for controlling said last named means.

3.,A material scoopingdevice comprising a handle, a stationary scoop carried by one end of said handle and having an open top of circular form, a cutting device extending at least partially around the open top of said scoop concentric therewith and supported solely by the, edge portionof such open top for,oscillatingmovement about itsaxis, and power driven means carried by said handle andprojecting from said end thereof to engage saidcutting device and operable to effect oscillating movement of said. cutting device. 1 H I 4. A material scooping device comprising a handle, a stationary scoop carried by oneiend of said-handle and having an opentop of circular form, a cutting deviceextendingvat least partially around'the open top of said scoop concentric, therewith and supportedsolely by the edge portion of such open topfor oscillating movement about its axis, power driven ;means. carried by said handle and projectingfrom said end thereof to engage said cutting device and operable to eiiect oscillatingmovement of said cutting device, and means carried by said handle and including a movable finger piece engagleable by a finger of the operator, for controllingsaid power driven means. i

5. A material scooping device comprising a handle, a scoop carried by one end of said handle and having an open top of circular form, a cutting device extending at least partially around the open top of said scoop concentric therewith,

means for supporting said cutting device for oscil-- lating movement about its axis, a rocking lever arranged in said handle and having one end projecting therefrom and operatively engaging said cutting device whereby rocking of said lever will oscillate said cutting device, and means within said handle for rocking said lever.

6. A material scooping device comprising a handle, a scoop carried by one end of said handle and having an open top of circular form, a cutting device extending at least partially around the open top of said scoopconcentric therewith, means for supporting said cutting device for oscillating movement about its axis, a rocking lever arranged in said handle and having one end projecting therefrom and operatively engaging said cutting device wherebyrocking of said lever. will oscillate said cutting device, electro-magnetic means within said handle for rocking said lever, and a switch device for said electro-magnetic means comprising a finger piece under the control of a finger of the operators hand while holding said handle.

7. A material scooping device comprising a handle, a scoop carried by one end of said handle and having an open top of circular form, a cutting device extending at least partially around the open top of said scoop concentric therewith and having a recess, means for supporting said aneccentric -cam earnieribysaid shaftand open-- atively engaging said recess wherebysaidci1t-' meunmng; the open top 01- said scodp, means for cennectm said cmtti'ng fiwi 'cestilely lto the edge por-tionwef {the -e ea top efsaid scaop mer oscillation 0n theams at said cutting device said lever constituting enafimatiire fio said e'l'ect'rogmag neti meansand means fort Ofibifiilling" -energiza-tien of s'ai' lectro mag netib meains to efiect cqntinuous rocking movemeiat-of-said lever. I e

claims provided with a switch: device for con tml ling said telectroemag-netic means isaid switchzsdevioe having-a finger 'spiece" carried=at suc'hua position-with respect to said ihand-leias to beengageableiby arfinger of thesoperatorsxhand to render said eleotho-magzietic means operative or inoperative.

=11; -A :ma'te'ri azl soeopirig clevieev eomprismg a handle, ;a seo'op carr ied thereby and having an openi top aficircular J form, a cutting devie'e :e'X- tendi -a t least partially around the open top of s2; se'o'op concentric therewith and supportedseflefl y'bg the edge portion of such open-1130p for estimation oniits axis; said cutting device having a ndtch' therein, and means efigag'eaible *in said notbh 'tb efie'ct osci'llatmgmoveme-nt ef s aid out ting dev iee;

lQQA matefial'zscooping device cemp'nising a har'idla e scoop carried thereby and havingan g the open tdp of saiol scoop and having tyof'olosely -arrangd cutting teeth pmje'oti'ng- ;-beyor-id such open 1 top" 01 engagement Withthe material :to-be scooped, said ring 'havi-ng aramfiafiy outward-1y faoing recess, arid a power-- d'fiven-e1emeht-engageab1e in said recess to eff-eet-oseitlating movement ef-s'a'id ring.

GEORGE NOEL :REFEEENGES CITED The fQIloWing references are 'Of record" in" the file. 0f 'thi's1 patent:

'UNifE-EDSTATESPATENTS Date 7 open top 1 or eirou-lar form, a cutting ring sur- 

